Help. What amp should I get?

[Predator Milk]

First new amp in a long time. What should I get? (I have sample tracks of my style)
At our last show the inevitable happened... my Line 6 spider II at dust hard. (please refrain from both line 6 and spider bashing... I know i know. I got this amp in highschool and it taught me to play guitar, I have come a long way since then). I had become very accustomed to the versatility of the spider II (if one is lax on tone, and I was).

I can replicate my effects situations with a boss GT series... but I have no idea what to do for an amp. Mesa double and triple rectifiers seem like an obvious solution to the gain settings I have come to like... and the Egnator renegade seems like just the amp for me for my clean channel settings.

I am very very very new to the world of tube amplifiers and Guitar Center pisses me off every time I go in there. What amps should I look at?

Here is what I play (demo tracks here http://www.nadiapero.com/liveinlogan.html). I recommend listing to Safarex, Camel Heat, Atlas and Balsamic Galbadia for a pretty good range of what we play, but please hear them all out as those tracks are nowhere near comprehensive. These demos were recorded with the spider II.

Please help!!! I don't know what to do! (my budget is about 1,500 and I would really like to include a Boss GT-10 in that amount if possible, but I don't want to cut to many corners).

 

[Predator Milk]

Is there a better place I can post this?

 

[Clockwork]

My vote is the mesa double rec, always. But you might want to try posting this in the Sneap sub forums equipment forum and people will give you some good advice.

 

[Rookie Bassist]

well ya know Marshalls are popular..........

get out there and demo some amps, try out those you like....people can say go this or get that, but you really can't decide on that...go try em out

 

[Clockwork]

Yeah it's really all about personal preference. Test out as many as you can, but not necessarily all at once, everything can sound the same after hours of playing. Test out one amp a day and see which ones draw you back to play a second time. Thats the best method IMO.

 

[Predator Milk]

good advice for sure, and I am out playing many amps. What I am looking for more specifically is (after listening to the above posted demo) which amps you all think I should seek out for the kind of stuff I write.

 

[Clockwork]

I still vote double rec. They have pretty good cleans so if you want the Boss GT-10 to do most of the defining in your sound the mesa won't muddy it. But if you want the amp to do the distortion the double rec has you covered, its a good all arounder IMO. Can't say anything about the Renegade, never played one.

 

[ResidentTroll]

Bugera. Best fuckin tone I've heard in ever.

 

[Clockwork]

Bugera. Best fuckin tone I've heard in ever.

Bugera makes more than one amp you know, might want to be a little more specific.

 

[ResidentTroll]

Bugera makes more than one amp you know, might want to be a little more specific.

It's hard to tell which ones they're making and discontinuing. I like the 333XL, It's what I have. They're also making a Triple Rectifier model. It looks pretty interesting.

Might want to check out the 6262 model. I've heard that's even better for metal.

 

[Mushroony]

If you want versatility and very good quality, go for an Axe FX with a power amp.

Oh and with 1500$ you can do WAY better than a friggin Bugera.

 

[ResidentTroll]

If you want versatility and very good quality, go for an Axe FX with a power amp.

Oh and with 1500$ you can do WAY better than a friggin Bugera.

Right, and with a first tube amp, not knowing what you're doing, you're going to get a 1,500 dollar amp?

That's like giving a 16 year old an Aston Martin for their first car.

 

[Dimaension X]

What happened with the Line 6? Did the speaker blow? Did the amp software die? Personally, I like Line 6 amps - I've got a Spider IV 75, and use it with my band that has a VERY loud drummer. I've only had the master volume up to about 10:00 or so, and it sounds great.

If you want to keep using the GT as your pedalboard/main sound-source, then you want a good clean amp with a lot of headroom. If you can get hold of Roland Jazz Chorus JC-120, I highly recommend one. They are great amps that play very well loud and clean, and work very well with pedal effects. Joe Satriani recorded most of his early albums with a Boss DS-1 Distortion pedal going into a JC-120.

I might also recommend the Fender Frontman 212R. Again, a very good amp for loud clean tones, and pedals. The build-in distortion is horrible (like the JC-120), but it sounds great clean, and effects work very well with it. Pedals, or a multi-FX board sound very good in this amp.

I also recommend the new Line 6 Spider IV series. Mine's been great, and if you're already used to Line 6 stuff, then you know what to expect.

 

[Predator Milk]

So I ended up with the Boss GT 8. I want an amp with a good distortion so that I can have a nice full warm clean, crunch and shred without any digital. (using the gt8 for effects and the occasional amp modeling as needed) The nice thing about the GT 8 is that you can use the "four cable method" to insert your tube preamp into the effects chain anywhere you please. That being said.... good advice about the good sounding clean amps but so far something like a dual or trip rec, marshall dsl or tsl, or peavy 6505 is what seems to be on my plate. What I really want you guys to help me with however.... is this: FROM WHAT MY DEMO SOUNDS LIKE, WHAT AMP (either listed here or not) MIGHT DO MY STYLE THE MOST JUSTICE?

I have played around with the spider IV's and (my favorite of the cheaper line 6 amps) the spider valve mk II. I dig the valve because of the all valve power amp and the effects loop. (why in the hell don't the spider series have effects loops?) IMHO Line 6 really messed up not giving the valve mk II an all tube option (that is a tube preamp and poweramp i.e. all valve). Thought... I have come to understand that they are designing such a thing to match with their HD500 floor pedal in their more expensive models.

This will be a my first tube amp... but I wouldn't say that I don't know what i'm doing, this is all part of my research. I'm will to spend around a grand. The 1,500$ included my boss gt8 as well. but.. back to point...

FROM WHAT MY DEMO SOUNDS LIKE, WHAT AMP (either listed here or not) MIGHT DO MY STYLE THE MOST JUSTICE?

 

[Clockwork]

Yes tube amps are a different animal, but why start on a shit amp just to upgrade later? He's upgrading now so he should upgrade to a sick fucking amp that he isn't going to want to replace in a few months. I still vote Mesa for your style. But in the end you are making the decision. So check this out.
http://www.youtube.com/user/fearedse
Ola Englund is actually a member of this forum and he does a lot of really good amp comparison videos. He compares things like the triple rec and the peavy 5150 and other amps that are the mainstay of most metal guitarists, check out those videos and take a listen, you might find you like the sound of one for your style and then I recommend you go test it for yourself.Even if you blew some of your 1500 budget on the Boss GT-10 find the amp you want and save up for it, don't settle for a lesser amp, everytime you buy gear you need to replace/upgrade later you are in a way shooting yourself in the foot.

In the end you have to make this call so asking for suggestions will only get you so far. It's up to you man! Good luck!

 

[Bryant]

Get one that goes up to 11 !!!

Seriously though..... you need to go and try different ones out, just as many have said here. There are so many different kick-ass guitarists that are able to get "their" tone out of different amps.
I am partial to Peavey tubes. The 5150 (now 6505 is a new model) are pretty bad-ass. That is one I say to check out. I think a combo amp goes for around $600.

Bryant

 

[Mushroony]

Right, and with a first tube amp, not knowing what you're doing, you're going to get a 1,500 dollar amp?

That's like giving a 16 year old an Aston Martin for their first car.

So he MUST buy a mediocre amp because he is (in your eyes) a 'beginner'? Even if he has the funds to buy a great amp?

You're a dick, sir.

 

[Mack Addy]

If you're serious about playing, I recommend not setting a strict dollar amount to spend on yourself; instead try everything you can find, pick the best amp that you feel passionate about and pay whatever the tag says. If your "sound" happens to be a used DSL 50, go for it. If it's a $4000 boutique amp, well..save some cash, work three jobs if you have to, but dammit BUY THAT ONE! In other words, do what Clockwork said: buy it once so you won't have to upgrade later.

That being said, I shall present to you my picks based on what you recorded:

- Marshall DSL 100: Great clean, pretty versatile overdrive channel depending on how it is set up. Sounds so epic when ripping on open chords like on Safarex. Channel switching can also be controlled remotely via the GT-8 saving you pedal board space.
- Marshall JVM 210/410H: Much more versatile amps with a lot of great sounds to play with. Also remotely controllable via MIDI.
- Hughes & Kettner Warp X or Trilogy heads: They are both absolutely brutual with tons of gain and low end and amazingly warm clean channels. The Trilogy is a more versatile, tighter sounding amp while the Warp X is the ultimate gain monster. Satan would be rising up from the ground telling you to turn it down! Both amps can be remotely controlled via MIDI (you must buy a MIDI module to plug into the back of the Warp X; the Trilogy does this straight out of the box).

These are just my picks. Could you tell us how you envision your ultimate guitar tone? That might help us out a bit more.